What are the requirements of an energy chain for food contact?
Shery George | 2 September 2021
When its comes to guiding function of an energy chains , we need to ensure a design which is as open as possible and therefore easy to clean, or using materials that may be used in direct contact with food. We incorporated all these requirements into the development and implemented them with the TH3. Also the materials used are in compliance with FDA and EU 10/2011 and are colored blue for visual detection.
The surface condition of the TH3 ( Source: igus GmbH)
The clear focus was to avoid any dead spaces or undercuts in the system. Absence of corners as they are difficult to clean , so all corners were rounded and all surfaces finished with slight radius. The connections of the chain are implemented by press-fit allowances and so also prevent potential jammed corners. We have designed the energy chain in such a way that it can be cleaned as easily as possible. “Just rinse with water and be done” was the goal.
In the end, of course, the guide function was not allowed to be compromised by the strict hygiene requirements. To guarantee this, special materials were developed and extensively tested in the laboratory.
Also available as ready-to-install complete system
We also offer the TH3 as a plug and play solution. We deliver precisely tailored and fully harnessed according to customer specifications with cable and connector. Ready for direct installation.
TH3 is available as harnessed readychain (Source: igus GmbH)
During construction we stuck to the Hygienic Design Guidelines as a reference and created a very hygienic design. Especially the open structure, which is easy to clean, is of great interest to the meat processing industry.